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Fran Tarkenton: Vikings' answer at quarterback isn't here

By Fran Tarkenton

Posted:
11/19/2013 12:01:00 AM CST

Updated:
11/19/2013 09:52:20 PM CST

Fran Tarkenton

The old Bill Parcells quote says, "You are what your record says you are." And right now, the Vikings are a struggling 2-8 team. They can play well at times but are really struggling at defense and at the most important position on offense: quarterback.

You can't win in the NFL without a quarterback playing at an effective level. The Vikings have three guys on the roster who've started at times, but none is at the level of performance the team needs. Christian Ponder is playing better than the others, but he's still struggling, as we saw Sunday against the Seahawks.

Winning is a hard task in the NFL; it takes a full team moving together in the same direction. You need to have sound coaching, a good quarterback and a strong team built from the inside (at the line of scrimmage) out. If you're lacking at any of those spots, you're in trouble. Look at the Atlanta Falcons: they have one of the best quarterbacks in the league and a coaching staff that has had a lot of success, but they are also 2-8 because they are challenged on their offensive line and defensive front seven.

On the other hand, the difference that the quarterback makes is obvious not only here in Minnesota, but also in the career of Nick Saban. In between winning national championships at LSU and Alabama, he coached the Miami Dolphins for two years. In his first year, they went 9-7 and just missed the playoffs. They had a lot of pieces, but they knew they needed the quarterback to get them to the next level. In the offseason, the Dolphins looked at Drew Brees and Daunte Culpepper.

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Saban wanted Brees, but the team's medical and training staff wouldn't clear him after a shoulder injury. The Dolphins took Culpepper instead, while the New Orleans Saints took their chances on Brees -- and the rest is history.

A year later, Saban left Miami to return to the college game. He left because he knew you can't win in the NFL if you don't have a quarterback -- even if you have everything else. The Dolphins had missed their chance to get "the guy," and those chances don't come around often. As a college coach at Alabama, Saban can get the players he wants and has the control to make the team in his image, and that obviously works.

Those Miami teams had a lot of pieces and great coaching. But the Dolphins didn't have a quarterback. Whether you're trying Gus Frerotte, Culpepper and Joey Harrington in Miami, or Ponder, Matt Cassel and Josh Freeman in Minnesota, you're still short of the one guy you need to win.

Teams that use high picks on wide receivers, running backs and other marquee college players might get some headlines, but teams that win know you need the right guy at the ultimate glamour position first. Once you land the right quarterback, then you get bigger, faster and stronger guys on the defensive line to go after the opposing quarterback.

Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder lies prone after a first-quarter sack against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field in Seattle on November 17, 2013. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

Then you have to protect your own quarterback with an effective line. You can find useful backs and receivers later, but game changers on the defensive line and at quarterback are harder to find.

You have to see the signs. The signs say the Vikings need to make a change to get things done. All the Adrian Petersons, Jared Allens and Kyle Rudolphs are great -- but the highest priority must be improving the production at the most important position on the field.

Fran Tarkenton is Minnesota Vikings analyst for TwinCities.com and the Pioneer Press. He is a former Vikings quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Fame member. He also is an advocate for small businesses and the founder of SmallBizClub.com. Follow Fran at twitter.com/Fran_Tarkenton.